Airborne 12.09.16

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Airborne 12.09.16

At Least 20 En Route Centers Have Computers Not Adequately
Secured

The nation's air traffic control
system is vulnerable to hack-attacks, according to a government
audit -- and the FAA is now scrambling to secure some of its most
vital computers against cyber-terrorists.

SecurityFocus reports at least 20 Air Route Traffic Control
Centers, responsible for directing high-altitude traffic
nationwide, have inadequate computer security. "While having
limited exposure to the general public, en route center computer
systems need to be better protected," said the DOT Inspector
General's report, dated October 1st. "FAA needs to commit to
reviewing all operational air traffic control systems -- at en
route, approach control, and airport terminal facilities."

What little the FAA has done to secure its IT systems to date
also came under fire in the IG's report. For example, we found that
FAA checked vulnerabilities on major computer servers but not on
end-user computers," it said. "As a result, tens of thousands of
workstations on its networks have not been checked for
vulnerabilities."

The FAA's response? "The FAA has made significant progress in
its information security program," said agency spokeswoman Tammy
Jones. "We do concur with the Inspector General's report that more
needs to be done, so we continue to work on our systems."